Dosage Range The typical therapeutic dose of an extract, standardised to contain 24% gymnemic acids, is 400-600 mg/day. When used to regulate blood sugar, gymnema may best be administered in divided doses with meals. DIABETES • Liquid extract (1:1): 25-75 mL/weekor 3.6-11.0 mL/day. • 6-60 g/day of dried leaf infusion SWEET CRAVING AND REDUCING SWEET PERCEPTION • Liquid extract (1:1): 1-2 mL dropped onto the tongue and rinsed off — repeat every 2-3 hours as required. Adverse Reactions Theoretically, gastric irritation can occur, because of the saponin content. There are two case reports of hepatotoxicity resulting from the consumption of a weight-loss formula containing gymnema and other herbs, including Garcinia cambogia, willow bark, glucomannan, green tea and guarana. In one study, gymnema was found to have a toxic effect in mice, producing increased lipid peroxidation at doses of 26.8 mg/kg, but was safe and antiperoxidative at doses of 13.4 mg/kg. In another study it was concluded that there was no toxic effect in rats treated with gymnema at doses of more than 500 mg/kg for 52 weeks. Significant Interactions Controlled studies are not available; therefore, interactions are based on evidence Read more […]

Clinical Use SWEET TASTE SUPPRESSION AND WEIGHT LOSS A controlled trial of normal volunteers found that an aqueous gymnema extract with concentrated gymnemicacid reduced sweetness perception by 50%, resulting in reduced caloric consumption 1.5 hours after the sweetness-numbing effect stopped. This result supports the findings of animal studies. In a 6-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, a multi-herbal formula that included gymnema was found to significantly reduce body weight and fat loss in obese adults after 6 weeks; however, the role of gymnema in achieving these results is unknown. DIABETES TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 Orally, gymnema leaf is used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and hyperglycaemia. There are two clinical trials that suggest that gymnema may be useful in reducing blood glucose levels in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In one study the ability of the GS4 extract (400 mg/day) to supplement the use of conventional oral hypoglycaemic agents (glibenclamide or tolbutamide) was studied in 22 patients with type 2 diabetes over 18-20 months. Treatment resulted in a significant reduction in fasting blood glucose (174 ± 7 vs 124 ± 5 mg/dL), HbA1c (11.91 ± 0.3 vs 8.48 ± 0.13%) and Read more […]

Historical Note Gymnema has been called the sugar destroyer because the leaf suppresses the ability to taste sweet on the tongue. It has been used to treat diabetes, as well as to aid metabolic control when combined with other herbal medicines. Common Name Gymnema Other Names Asclepias geminate, gur-mar (sugar destroyer), gemnema melicida, gokhru, gulrmaro, gurmar, gurmara, gurmarbooti, kar-e-khask, kharak, merasingi, meshasringi, masabedda, Periploca sylvestris, sirukurinjan Botanical Name / Family Gymnema sylvestre (family Asclepiadaceae) Plant Part Used Leaf Chemical Components Gymnema contains gymnemasaponins, gymnemasides, gymnemic acids and gypenosides, as well as a range of nutrients including ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, chromium, iron, magnesium and potassium. The main active chemical components appear to be the gymnemic acids, gymnemasaponins and the polypep-tidegurmarin. Main Actions SWEET TASTE SUPPRESSION The constituent, gymnemic acid, inhibits the ability to taste sweetness in animal models and humans. In humans, the administration of 5 mmol/L gurmarin to the tongue raised the threshold ability to taste sucrose from 0.01 mol/L to 1 mol/L for several hours. It is suggested that gurmarin Read more […]